The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1887-03-15
sPOFFORD's KNOWLEDGE.
Ills Method OF Acquiring It--How to Read Rapid

|
ford, the Librarian OF Congress, knows
something about the contents ofevery
volume in the library. This means
that he has slowed away in n moder-
ate-sized mead 100000 volumes OF
various sizes and bindings A mem.
Der OF Congress facetiously said, ~
don't read books, / read Spoiford. ="
In that way, he added, he got the
whole library at one glance. A figure
OF speech, but not rs broad as it
sounds. II member or Senator
wants quotation that cannot be
found in any OF the Familiar Quota
tions," and is OF very obscure origin.
he goes to Mr.. Spofford. If he wants
the best authority on any subject. or,
indeed, if he wants to learn anything
that may be found in any of those
thousands of volumes. he goes to the
same source. Members seldom think
OF looking at the catalogues.
Mr.. Spofiord is probably the most
rapid reader in this country. The
other day n Star reporter sought
some information ofhim. Simultane.
ously, within space OF five minutes,
he conversed with the reporter, "read"
through completely twelve-page
New York paper, dictated letter to
stenographer, and gave directions
to two assistants. He commenced all
at the same time and finished them
together. A remark-a sentence die.
tated aside--a direction-a sentence
dictated-a remark, and so on. ap.
parently without an effort, and I'LL
the time his eyes were running over
the paper almost as fast us he could
turn from page to page.
how he did it.
ooh, it comes natural for me to
give my attention to two or three
things together that way. | do it by
n sort of intuition without thinking
of it."
"But how do you read so rapidly"
al acquire the subject NATTER
said Mr.. Spofford. 81 pick out tie
meat-the pith. Ipay no attention
to the verbiage. scarcely see the
words, and never note the form OF
sentences. / have learned, by long
practice and having q natural tenden-
cy for it, to get the information with
out the rhetoric. In this way the
thought is got at a glance. 1t is not
the words you want. When your
time is all too short for your work,
you can't afford to waste it on words.
In reading there is so much that is OF
no use to you-a worthless lot OF ver-
biage. BY practice you can avoid all
this. Nearly all books or papers are
taken up mostly with rhetoric, and
have the fact and substance stored
away in q very small space, il you
only know how to find it. | seldom
spend more than half an hour, and
never more than an hour and
n half in the reading-or reconnois-
sance of the largest volume. For in.
stance, take this" and he took n
volume from the shelf. "No," look
ing at the title, "thls is hardly the
proper book to illustrate it with.
This is Carlyle; he has to be read; ey-
cry word. Hei is one OF the few authors
who cannot be read MS | have de-
scribed. You must read every word.
and well it pays you for the time
But it is only such n rugged and ex-
traordinary writer that it is neces
sary to read that way. All those
thousands OF books, with smooth |
easy running sentences, they are all
alike, and you don't want to waste |
time on the language, you want to |
seize on to the soul and devour it in |
an instant. Like this, now" and he
reached another book mot Cariylel !
and went down the pages one alter
another, as an expert accountant |
would 90 down column of figures. |
Nothing there want, nor there, nor
there" Then occasionally strik- |
ing something to the point and getting
the the thought in an instant. lie |
went over probably fifteen or twenty |
pages in this way in n length OF time
hardly worth reckoning, and without |
even making q break in the converse.
ton.
"Many people," Mr.. Spofford went
went on, "have the time-wastine hab-
it of pronouncing every word in their
mind, and noticing every pause and /
as they go along, as il
reading aloud. All these words and
sentences, with the capitalization and
punctuation-the commas, colons, Sc
the periods, and the para
graphs, are only the signs to be follow
ed, but not to be recorded in the mind,
The mind must take note OF the
thought only. Many readers, perhaps
most readers, chuck their heads up
with commas and colons instead OF
thoughts.
"Can you estimate how many books